Since the Predators are on the bye week, I got to pondering… The Predators are one game past the halfway point in their season. Let’s take a look at the second half schedule and point out the pitfalls and the positives.

Positive - You keep hearing about the “games-0in-hand” stat. It means that team has played less games than the comparison team, so when you hear “Nashville has four games-in-hand over St. Louis” … which they do … you know that Nashville has played four less games than the Blues. Why is this important? Because those games-in-hand are points that can be gained on the comparison team. The Preds are in outstanding position here… they have games in hand over Winnipeg, St. Louis, Dallas, Minnesota and Chicago. All teams Nashville is fighting for playoff position. It’s a huge advantage.

Pitfall - There really isn’t a pitfall here… unless the Preds don’t take advantage of this.

Positive - Revenge potential of the first two games back from the bye. Having Vegas and Arizona, back-to-back in Smashville allows the opportunity to not only avenge their last two road losses, it also presents an opportunity to send a message to the new kids on the block.

Pitfall - Vegas gets a game under their belt after their bye week, Nashville has the Golden Knights their first game back from the bye… a decided advantage for Vegas

Positive - January schedule is light on the divisional opponents, only one game, against the Blackhawks at home. Stringing some wins together against this January schedule well positions the Preds when the schedule turns back to the Central.

Pitfall - There are no pushovers, the Preds have shown a penchant for tripping over opponents that they should roll over (cough… Arizona… cough)

Positive - Been there, done that. The Nashville Predators have been a second half team… they look like a team that is starting to ramp things up… it’s not quite flipping a switch, but this team’s experience last year helps them with knowing what is ahead of them.

Pitfall - Sometimes a team can get too comfortable in their knowledge, if the Predators don’t kick it up to the level they know is necessary it may be a loooooong offseason.

The second half of the season can be a real grind, especially when the dog days of February kick in, however, the Predators have shown that they like the busier schedule. They have had a LOT of offtime in the last four-five weeks and it may have hurt their edge. After the All-Star break, the team will play 12 games in the following three weeks, with only two periods of more than one day between games. The first game out of the All-Star break sees Nashville host Chicago for the final game of the season series with the Blackhawks.

Not only is January skimpy of central division games, so is February, with only three divisional games in the month, two of them against St. Louis and both of them inside the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena.

Once the calendar turns to March, the Preds are MUCH more Western centric in the schedule with two road trips to cover basketball tounaments being held at Bridgestone. The Preds have seven central division games in March, two vs. Minnesota and Winnipeg (1 home 1 away) One at home against Dallas, two on the road against Colorado. The home game on March 27th vs. the Wild finishes their Central division schedule.

I am not wearing “Pred Colored” glasses when I say that the window is wide open for this team to not only take it’s first Central Division banner, but also the regular season conference banner as well. The boys hit the ice Monday for practice, then are back in action Tuesday night.

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“Where We Stand” update… a daily tracking of where the Preds are in the standings and the games that impact them most, brought to you by Mark Lonsway - THE real estate professional for hockey fans!



After last night’s play, the Predators, who are in their bye week, continue to stand second in the Central Division with 56 points, three points behind Winnipeg (2 GIH) and one point ahead of St. Louis (4 GIH) … the Preds lead Dallas by five points (1 GIH)… and lead Minnesota by six points (2 GIH.)

Impact games tonight (all times Central) – 7:30pm – Winnipeg @ Chicago… ugh, a Blackhawk win would actually help the Preds, so hold your nose folks!

Playoff Odds Courtesy SportsClubStats.com - The Predators playoff chances are now at 96.7% after yesterday’s play.

The Playoff Point Line - I look at the point level needed for a 75%+ chance to make the playoffs… right now, it stands at 96 points.

Playoff odds and playoff point line courtesy of SportsClubStats.com

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Random Notes

- Congratulations to former Preds captain Mike Fisher who was named the recipient of the 2018 Professional Athlete of the Year Award by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

- Juuse Saros got the win and the shutout last night as the Milwaukee Admirals took down the Lake Eerie Monsters 1-0

- Eeli Watch – Eeli Tolvanen’s Jokerit team beat Kunlun RS yesterday, 3-1. Eeli Tolvanen was held off the scoresheet. Tolvanen has 17 goals and 16 assists in 42 games.

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Tweets by @PredPAPaul


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